Recruitment apprentice or trainee? What’s the difference?

Can you tell the difference between a trainee and an apprentice? An A Level superstar with the gift of the gab from a graduate?

We recently spoke to the manager of a recruitment agency who had an advert posted online for a trainee recruitment consultant.

Having recruited for a similar sized agency locally who took on an apprentice and having a pool of excellent pre-screened candidates available , we did the logical thing and ‘specked in’ our awesome candidates.

We were met with the unexpected.

“I want a trainee not an apprentice!”

Okay, okay. It wasn’t that much of an objection but we were clearly trying to offer apples to a man who wanted oranges.

So, what is the difference between an apprentice and a trainee? Here’s the facts.

The same people that apply for an apprentice vacancy apply for trainee vacancies; the talent pool and the people who apply are no different.